A Taste of Happiness

by Joanne Parker, Fariha Tabassum (Illustrator)

A fresh start, an old flame, and a family full of secrets…

The Beresford family is adjusting to new arrivals and old complications. Tom is settling into fatherhood with Christopher, the son he has only just met, whilst his other son, Brian, grapples with the consequences of his affair as his mistress gives birth.

Meanwhile, Tom's daughter, Julie, is at a crossroads. Redundant from the sewing factory, raising a five-year-old son, and determined to put her past behind her, she never expected help to come in the form of Lucas, her estranged ex and the father of her child. As she sets up a new business, sparks begin to fly, but can she really trust him again?

As the pieces of her life start falling into place, Julie faces one final is it time to let go of the past and take a chance on love?

A heartwarming and compelling story about second chances, family ties, and the courage to follow your dreams.

228 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 7, 2025

About the author

Joanne Parker is a Senior Lecturer in Victorian Literature in the Department of English. She researches the relationships between history, legend, place and identity - particularly in the literature and culture of the long nineteenth century. With Dr Corinna Wagner, she is part of the AHRC-funded project Community, Identity and Victorian Medievalism, and she is one of ten researchers working on the five-year EU-funded project The Past in its Place. She teaches options in Women's Writing and British Children's Literature, and also contributes to the teaching of the Year Two module, From Romanticism to Decadence.